Sex, betrayal, and intrigue: A dream vacation on a luxurious yacht turns deadly... Belle likes to think herself immune to the dizzying effects of fabulous wealth. But when her best friend, Summer, invites her on a glamorous getaway to the Mediterranean aboard her billionaire boyfriend's...  more

Sex, betrayal, and intrigue: A dream vacation on a luxurious yacht turns deadly... Belle likes to think herself immune to the dizzying effects of fabulous wealth. But when her best friend, Summer, invites her on a glamorous getaway to the Mediterranean aboard her billionaire boyfriend's yacht, the only sensible answer is yes. Belle hopes the trip will be a much-needed break from her stalled acting career and uniquely humiliating waitressing job, but once she's aboard the luxurious Lion's Den, it soon becomes clear this jet-setting holiday is not as advertised. Belle's dream vacation quickly devolves into a nightmare as she and the handful of other girls Summer invited are treated more like prisoners than guests by their controlling host -- and in one terrifying moment, Belle comes to see Summer for who she truly is: a vicious gold digger who will stop at nothing to get what she wants. Belle realizes she's going to have to keep her wits about her -- and her own big secret closely hidden -- if she wants to make it off the yacht alive.

For decades, the apocalypse and its aftermath have yielded some of the most exciting short stories of all time.   Featuring stories from a roster of the most recognized and celebrated names within the science fiction, fantasy, and horror genres, Wastelands 2: More Stories of the...  more

For decades, the apocalypse and its aftermath have yielded some of the most exciting short stories of all time.   Featuring stories from a roster of the most recognized and celebrated names within the science fiction, fantasy, and horror genres, Wastelands 2: More Stories of the Apocalypse, an eclectic mix of tales that explores famine, death, war, pestilence, and harbingers of the biblical apocalypse, is a companion volume to the critically-acclaimed Wastelands -- and offers thirty of the finest examples of post-apocalyptic short fiction. Contents: Introduction (Wastelands 2: More Stories of the Apoclypse) • essay by John Joseph Adams The Tamarisk Hunter / Paolo Bacigalupi Deep Blood Kettle / Hugh Howey ". . . for a single yesterday" / George R. R. Martin Animal Husbandry / Seanan McGuire Chiswick Messiah / Lauren Beukes Colliding Branes / Rudy Rucker & Bruce Sterling Ellie / Jack McDevitt Foundation / Ann Aguirre Beat Me Daddy / Cory Doctorow A Beginner’s Guide to Survival Before, During, and After the Apocalypse / Christopher Barzak Wondrous Days / Genevieve Valentine Dreams in Dust / D. Thomas Minton By Fools Like Me / Nancy Kress Jimmy’s Roadside Cafe / Ramsey Shehadeh The Elephants of Poznan / Orson Scott Card The Postman / David Brin When We Went To See the End of the World / Robert Silverberg The Revelation of Morgan Stern / Christie Yant Final Exam / Megan Arkenberg A Flock of Birds / James Van Pelt Patient Zero / Tananarive Due Soulless in His Sight / Milo James Fowler Outer Rims / Toiya Kristen Finley Advertising at the End of the World / Keffy R. M. Kehrli How the World Became Quiet: A Post-Human Creation Myth / Rachel Swirsky Tight Little Stiches in a Dead Man’s Back / Joe R. Lansdale After the Apocalypse / Maureen F. McHugh The Traditional / Maria Dahvana Headley Monstro / Junot Diaz Biographical Fragments of the Life of Julian Prince / Jake Kerr

Her name is Virginia Dodge. And she?s here to kill Detective Steve Carella. An ordinary day at the 87th Precinct is about to take a turn for the worse when Dodge shows up to put a bullet in Carella?s head. And she doesn?t care if she has to take all the men in the 87th with her to do...  more

Her name is Virginia Dodge. And she?s here to kill Detective Steve Carella. An ordinary day at the 87th Precinct is about to take a turn for the worse when Dodge shows up to put a bullet in Carella?s head. And she doesn?t care if she has to take all the men in the 87th with her to do it. Armed with a homemade bomb, handgun, and a bottle of nitroglycerine hidden in her purse, Virginia holds the entire squadroom hostage as she waits for Carella. And no one is leaving until he shows up to meet his maker. With all the men of the 87th save one held prisoner, they engage in a battle of wits to save their colleague from their deadly captor. A classic in Ed McBain?s groundbreaking 87th Precinct series, Killer?s Wedge is a mesmerizing, profoundly relevant thriller where terrorism strikes deep into the heart of the house, putting everyone?s life on the line in a tense standoff with an enemy who cannot be reasoned with.

Nick Heller is tough, smart, and stubborn.  And in his line of work, it's essential.  Trained in the Special Forces, Nick is a high-powered intelligence investigator--exposing secrets that powerful people would rather keep hidden.  He's a guy you don't want to mess...  more

Nick Heller is tough, smart, and stubborn.  And in his line of work, it's essential.  Trained in the Special Forces, Nick is a high-powered intelligence investigator--exposing secrets that powerful people would rather keep hidden.  He's a guy you don't want to mess with.  He's also the man you call when you need a problem fixed. Desperate, with nowhere else to run, Nick's nephew, Gabe makes that call one night.  After being attacked in Georgetown, his mother, Lauren, lies in a coma, and his step-dad, Roger, Nick's brother, has vanished without a trace. Nick and Roger have been on the outs since the arrest, trial, and conviction of their father, the notorious "fugitive financier," Victor Heller.  Where Nick strayed from the path, Roger followed their father's footsteps into the corporate world.  Now, as Nick searches for his brother, he's on a collision course with one of the most powerful corporations in the world--and they will stop at nothing to protect their secrets.

Mystery writer Brooke Davies is the new wife on the block. Her tech-billionaire husband, Jack, twenty-two years her senior, whisked her to the Bay Area via private jet and purchased a modest mansion on the same day. He demands perfection, and before now, Brooke has had no problem playing the...  more

Mystery writer Brooke Davies is the new wife on the block. Her tech-billionaire husband, Jack, twenty-two years her senior, whisked her to the Bay Area via private jet and purchased a modest mansion on the same day. He demands perfection, and before now, Brooke has had no problem playing the role of a doting housewife. But as she befriends other wives on the street and spends considerable time away from Jack, he worries if he doesn’t control Brooke’s every move, she will reveal the truth behind their “perfect” marriage. Erin King, famed news anchor and chair of the community board, is no stranger to maintaining an image—though being married to a plastic surgeon helps. But the skyrocketing success of her career has worn her love life thin, and her professional ambitions have pushed Mason away. Quitting her job is a Hail Mary attempt at keeping him interested, to steer him away from finding a young trophy wife. But is it enough, and is Mason truly the man she thought he was? Georgia St. Claire allegedly cashed in on the deaths of her first two husbands, earning her the nickname “Black Widow”—and the stares and whispers of her curious neighbors. Rumored to have murdered both men for their fortunes, she claims to have found true love in her third marriage, yet her mysterious, captivating allure keeps everyone guessing. Then a tragic accident forces the residents of Presidio Terrace to ask: Has Georgia struck again? And what is she really capable of doing to protect her secrets?

When the demons are in your head, call an exorcist. When they are at your front door, call Ty Burdin. And when all else fails, decapitation kills everything. There are some nightmares you can't drink away. Determined to quit demon hunting, Ty Burdin left the Agency with a trail of bodies...  more

When the demons are in your head, call an exorcist. When they are at your front door, call Ty Burdin. And when all else fails, decapitation kills everything. There are some nightmares you can't drink away. Determined to quit demon hunting, Ty Burdin left the Agency with a trail of bodies in his wake. When local Agency Head Rancic is in over his head with a redneck war-demon that always seems to be one step ahead, Ty is thrown back into the crosshairs. After the devil’s bullets start flying, he is going to need more than his piss-poor attitude to make it out of Shiner’s Ridge alive. Only one thing is for sure, the DEMON GOTTA GO. Beasts of Burdin is a double noir on the rocks with a Southern gothic twist. If you like the hard knock, unabashedly dark style of Richard Kadrey and Stephen Blackmore, you'll love the hilarious cynicism of Alexander Nader.

Loaded guns, ladies of the night, broken neon, broken dreams. Here is a world that is immediately recognizable — through a shot glass at three A.M. This is life with rough edges, in a novel that gives you the straight goods — point blank — one cold, snowbound Christmas Eve in...  more

Loaded guns, ladies of the night, broken neon, broken dreams. Here is a world that is immediately recognizable — through a shot glass at three A.M. This is life with rough edges, in a novel that gives you the straight goods — point blank — one cold, snowbound Christmas Eve in Kansas. One single night, defined in shadings of black and white, when everything changes.... For most, the city is closing up. For a few outsiders, this night, Christmas Eve 1979, is just beginning. Charlie Arglist is a lawyer saying goodbye to Wichita by revisiting the landscape of his used up life: the cold stare of his angry ex-wife, the empty strip clubs and bars where loneliness turns a profit, the frozen glare of ex-lovers and cops long snuggled in his deep pockets. Club owner Renata, an elegant dish in a smoky dive, dreams of financial prosperity and holds a single frame of a stolen film that could help her achieve them. And there's Vic. He's got a reputation, a bad temper, and a secret worth half a million dollars. Not to mention a knack for bringing people together...for the last time. Before the night is over, the decisions they face and the choices they make will irrevocably alter the course of their lives — if they can live long enough to see Christmas Day sunrise.

Eleven-year-old Polly is smart far beyond her years. But she's a loner. Her mother tells her she has 'gunfighter eyes', like the father she's never met. In prison, about to be released, Nate runs afoul of the powerful leader of the Aryan Brotherhood. Marked for death on his...  more

Eleven-year-old Polly is smart far beyond her years. But she's a loner. Her mother tells her she has 'gunfighter eyes', like the father she's never met. In prison, about to be released, Nate runs afoul of the powerful leader of the Aryan Brotherhood. Marked for death on his release, Nate soon realizes that everyone he has ever loved is a target - including his daughter, Polly. Now, forced into hiding by the greenlight placed upon them, Nate finds himself having to teach his estranged daughter how to survive in a kill-or-be-killed world, all the while observed by Polly's teddy bear, who is soon the only outlet for the little girl's emotions. Soon the two of them find themselves on a non-stop struggle for survival, and along the way, discover the bonds that eluded them for so many years... Also published as A Lesson in Violence

Curious about the day that Saint Christopher found out he'd been declared non-existent by the pope? What exactly is a cat in Hell's chance? How would an annual Christmas present exchange between Heaven and Hell work out? Find out the answers to these and other pressing questions in this...  more

Curious about the day that Saint Christopher found out he'd been declared non-existent by the pope? What exactly is a cat in Hell's chance? How would an annual Christmas present exchange between Heaven and Hell work out? Find out the answers to these and other pressing questions in this collection of short stories from the world of Clovenhoof. This contains the stories, Clovenhoof's Shed and Clovenhoof Goes To Night School, which were previously published individually, but there are eight other stories included here featuring favourite characters from Heaven and Hell. Contains: Clovenhoof goes to Night School Patron Saint of Nothing At All Clovenhoof and the Snowmen Saint Nicholas and the Krampus Detritus at the Church Fete Clovenhoof and the Spiders A Cat in Hell's Chance The Non-Specific Prayer Assessment Unit The Hoof.Clovenhoof's Shed

Aaron Cartwright is not the young boy he used to be. He is something else now. Something not quite human. His friends no longer look at him the same way. But the mission hasn’t changed. The enemy needs destroying. The Earth needs reclaiming. The problem is... A new threat is about to...  more

Aaron Cartwright is not the young boy he used to be. He is something else now. Something not quite human. His friends no longer look at him the same way. But the mission hasn’t changed. The enemy needs destroying. The Earth needs reclaiming. The problem is... A new threat is about to arrive, and everything mankind thought it knew is about to be proved dead wrong.

One loser, one karate-chopping bombshell, and one talking cockroach stand between YOU and the zombie apocalypse. It's business as usual at the 24/7 Demon Mart. Well, not exactly. The beer cave is still the portal to hell, but things haven't been quite right since a handful of vengeful...  more

One loser, one karate-chopping bombshell, and one talking cockroach stand between YOU and the zombie apocalypse. It's business as usual at the 24/7 Demon Mart. Well, not exactly. The beer cave is still the portal to hell, but things haven't been quite right since a handful of vengeful beasts from beyond nearly destroyed the store in their bid to unleash hell on earth. Demon Mart has a serious pest problem. Shoddy construction has compromised the gate. Even the neighborhood is in flux, now that the Monster Burger across the street has a snooty new owner with a personal beef against the Demon Mart staff. And Lloyd Wallace, one-time world-saving hero, is too scared to leave his house. He's had a bit of trouble dealing with the fact that zombies are real (and a valued part of the Demon Mart team), blood-thirsty hell beasts are real, and that his boss is the devil. His guardian angel -- who lives in a Magic 8-Ball -- has had to resort to extreme measures to get Lloyd to leave the safety of his childhood bedroom, show up for work, and keep the promises he made to God. When the store's living dead staff get restless, and human customers start shuffling around, absolutely starving, ready to eat anything they can get their hands on, it's clear 24/7 Demon Mart has a big problem. It's ground zero for the zombie apocalypse. It's up to DeeDee, Lloyd, and Kevin to save the day -- again. But Lloyd will have to conquer his crippling fear long enough to do his job. Can he man up and become a world-saving hero? Or, will he remain a couch-surfing zero? If they fail, Columbus, Ohio, could quickly turn into Zombie, Ohio. The fate of the world is on the line. What could go wrong?

Everyone out of the water! Serge A. Storms is back! The one-man crime spree hits no speed bumps as he swings through Tampa, Disney World, and parts south before settling down in Miami Beach to team up with a former sidekick and launch his long- overdue offbeat travel service. It's a...  more

Everyone out of the water! Serge A. Storms is back! The one-man crime spree hits no speed bumps as he swings through Tampa, Disney World, and parts south before settling down in Miami Beach to team up with a former sidekick and launch his long- overdue offbeat travel service. It's a labor of love as Serge forces customers to confront the underbelly of the Sunshine State's past and present. Some clients get it; others run for their lives. No matter. Bullets fly, cars crash, bodies pile up, fireballs reach into the sky, local lore is recited. The tour continues. But wait! There's more! Our overachieving antihero has a full to-do list, and he multitasks during the tourist juggernaut to battle the Palermo crime family, mystery assassins, local police, the FBI, the CIA, Fidel Castro, and telemarketers. Whew! That's plenty! . . . No, it's not! Serge is also out to solve a forty-year-old mystery involving the infamous "Murph the Surf" gem heist. Could this be what got his grand-father killed? So we jump into the time machine to meet his eccentric granddad, Sergio, who is running a small-time bookie operation in 1964 Miami Beach, a golden time and place popu-lated by the Beatles, Cassius Clay, James Bond, Jackie Gleason, and Flipper. . . . Back to live action! Serge and his customers have become the hunted, hopscotching through a series of famous hotel rooms. But Serge tells them not to worry. He has a master plan, which is about to unfold in all of its insane glory . . . on Cadillac Beach!

?I will kill the Lady tonight at 8. What can you do about it?? This is the message on a pasted-up letter handed to Desk Sergeant Dave Murchison at 8:00 a.m. The detectives at the 87th Precinct have gotten these types of threats before, but there?s something different about this one. Something...  more

?I will kill the Lady tonight at 8. What can you do about it?? This is the message on a pasted-up letter handed to Desk Sergeant Dave Murchison at 8:00 a.m. The detectives at the 87th Precinct have gotten these types of threats before, but there?s something different about this one. Something ominous. Problem is, the city contains millions of women?finding the right one in twelve hours is like finding a needle in a haystack. Detectives Steve Carella and Cotton Hawes go down the list of likely suspects but in a city this big, it's a best-guess scenario. And with the clock ticking and no other leads, guessing is the only card they have to play. All they need is one break?or they won?t get a second chance. A classic race-against-time thriller with relentless pacing and top-notch plotting, Lady Killer is a master class in detective fiction and a riveting addition to Ed McBain?s 87th Precinct series.

Secret service agent Ethan Burke arrives in Wayward Pines, Idaho, with a clear mission: locate and recover two federal agents who went missing in the bucolic town one month earlier. But within minutes of his arrival, Ethan is involved in a violent accident. He comes to in a hospital, with no ID,...  more

Secret service agent Ethan Burke arrives in Wayward Pines, Idaho, with a clear mission: locate and recover two federal agents who went missing in the bucolic town one month earlier. But within minutes of his arrival, Ethan is involved in a violent accident. He comes to in a hospital, with no ID, no cell phone, and no briefcase. The medical staff seems friendly enough, but something feels…off. As the days pass, Ethan’s investigation into the disappearance of his colleagues turns up more questions than answers. Why can’t he get any phone calls through to his wife and son in the outside world? Why doesn’t anyone believe he is who he says he is? And what is the purpose of the electrified fences surrounding the town? Are they meant to keep the residents in? Or something else out? Each step closer to the truth takes Ethan further from the world he thought he knew, from the man he thought he was, until he must face a horrifying fact—he may never get out of Wayward Pines alive.

Start with a tough but vulnerable Chicago cop. Add a hyperactive cat, an ailing mother, a jealous boyfriend, a high-maintenance ex-husband, and a partner in the throes of a mid-life crisis. Stir in a psychopath littering the city with body parts. Mix with equal parts humor and suspense, and...  more

Start with a tough but vulnerable Chicago cop. Add a hyperactive cat, an ailing mother, a jealous boyfriend, a high-maintenance ex-husband, and a partner in the throes of a mid-life crisis. Stir in a psychopath littering the city with body parts. Mix with equal parts humor and suspense, and enjoy Bloody Mary--the second novel in the funny, frightening world of Lieutenant Jacqueline "Jack" Daniels. Join Jack as she struggles to repair her train wreck of a personal life while tracking down and convicting one of the scariest serial killers in recent memory--a killer for whom getting caught is only the beginning... About JA Konrath JA Konrath is the author of eight novels in the Jack Daniels thriller series. They do not have to be read chronologically to be enjoyed, but for those who want to know the order it is: Whiskey Sour, Bloody Mary, Rusty Nail, Dirty Martini, Fuzzy Navel, Cherry Bomb, Shaken, and Stirred. Jack also appears in the novels Shot of Tequila, Flee, Spree, Three, Timecaster Supersymmetry, Banana Hammock, and Serial Killers Uncut, as well as the short story collection Jack Daniels Stories, and the novellas Floaters and Burners. Last Call, the ninth Jack Daniels novel, will be available in spring of 2013. Konrath writes horror under the name Jack Kilborn, including the bestsellers Afraid, Trapped, Endurance, and Draculas. The new Kilborn novel, Haunted House, will be available mid 2013. He has sold over a million ebooks.

Plodding through the eternal void is the great turtle A'Tuin. On his back (or hers - the question is unresolved) stand four elephants. And supported on the elephants' shoulders is. . . Discworld, planet of magic and misadventure! Predicting his own death, the wizard Drum Billet sets out to...  more

Plodding through the eternal void is the great turtle A'Tuin. On his back (or hers - the question is unresolved) stand four elephants. And supported on the elephants' shoulders is. . . Discworld, planet of magic and misadventure! Predicting his own death, the wizard Drum Billet sets out to pass on his power and his staff to his predicted successor, the eighth son of an eighth son. But there is a problem. The eighth son turns out to be a daughter, and women aren't supposed to be wizards.("Where does it say women can't be wizards? It doesn't say it anywhere, it says it everywhere.") But it's too late: Eskarina inherits the wizard's staff, and with the reluctant help of the witch Granny Weatherwax sets out to learn her new calling.

A billionaire Senator with money to burn...A thirty year old science experiment, about to be revealed...Seven people, marked for death, not for what they know, but for what they are...THE LIST by JA KonrathHistory is about to repeat itselfBook Description:THE LIST is a bit of a departure for...  more

A billionaire Senator with money to burn...A thirty year old science experiment, about to be revealed...Seven people, marked for death, not for what they know, but for what they are...THE LIST by JA KonrathHistory is about to repeat itselfBook Description:THE LIST is a bit of a departure for Konrath. It's a technothriller about a group of ten people who each have tattoos of numbers on the bottoms their feet, and don't know why.One of them, a Chicago Homicide cop named Tom Mankowski, has had one of these strange tattoos since birth. When he investigates a violent murder and discovers the victim also has a tattooed number, it sets the ball rolling for an adventure of historic proportions.To say more would give away too much.Like the Jack Daniels series, THE LIST combines laugh out loud humor with serious suspense and thrills. THE LIST is approximately 82,000 words long. This book also contains bonus material:An excerpt from SUCKERS by J.A. Konrath and Jeff Strand.An excerpt from THE WALK by Lee Goldberg.An excerpt from IDENTITY CRISIS by Debbi Mack.An excerpt from FRAME-UP by Eric Christopherson and Brad Schoenfeld.About the Author:JA Konrath is the author of six novels in the Lt. Jacqueline "Jack" Daniels thriller series. The latest is CHERRY BOMB. He also wrote the horror novel AFRAID under the name Jack Kilborn. Praise for JA Konrath's thriller FUZZY NAVEL:"FUZZY NAVEL is Konrath at his best ? a hilariously heartstopping thriller." ? Linda Fairstein"This gripping novel is an adrenalin rush." ? Library Journal"This book moves so fast it was like having the words fired into my head by a machine gun." ? CrimespreePraise for AFRAID (JA Konrath writing as Jack Kilborn):"AFRAID is a masterpiece of unrelenting horror. And I'm not exaggerating. Masterpiece. It's the best piece of fiction I've read in several years. It simply NEVER lets up." ? James Rollins, author of The Judas Strain"A bloody, terrifying, hurtling assault across a landscape of non-stop mayhem. A guilty, guilty pleasure." ? F. Paul Wilson, creator of Repairman Jack?AFRAID is a true page turner, a novel that offers a million mile a minute action and suspense. Definitely, a must have with constant thrills and chills." ? Heather Graham, author of Deadly Gift"Never have I read a novel so gruesome and simultaneously relentless. This book throbs with unmitigated, inexorable. sheer friggin? TERROR. You?ll probably need a shrink when you?re done.? ? Edward Lee, author of Brides of the Impaler"Fast and ferocious, this is a dangerous thriller that will take a bite out of you. An absolute must read for anyone who loves the adrenaline rush of a shocking story told with style, speed and savage grace." ? Jonathan Maberry, author of Patient Zero

A breakneck race against time...and an implacable enemy. An anonymous young woman murdered in a run-down hotel, all identifying characteristics dissolved by acid. A father publicly beheaded in the blistering heat of a Saudi Arabian public square. A notorious Syrian biotech expert found...  more

A breakneck race against time...and an implacable enemy. An anonymous young woman murdered in a run-down hotel, all identifying characteristics dissolved by acid. A father publicly beheaded in the blistering heat of a Saudi Arabian public square. A notorious Syrian biotech expert found eyeless in a Damascus junkyard. Smoldering human remains on a remote mountainside in Afghanistan. A flawless plot to commit an appalling crime against humanity. One path links them all, and only one man can make the journey. Pilgrim.

The wedding day of Detective Steve Carella?s sister Angela should be the most romantic, special day of her life. But it might turn out to be the worst if her brother can?t figure out which man on the guest list has come to murder the groom. Carella and the men from the 87th Precinct find...  more

The wedding day of Detective Steve Carella?s sister Angela should be the most romantic, special day of her life. But it might turn out to be the worst if her brother can?t figure out which man on the guest list has come to murder the groom. Carella and the men from the 87th Precinct find themselves on the clock as they desperately hunt amongst the name cards and catered dinners for the would-be assailant. Trouble is, the crowd has numerous people with viable motives: the best man who stands to inherit everything the groom owns, the ex-boyfriend with a homicidal crush, and even an ex-GI with a score to settle. But time is ticking, and if they don?t act fast, Angela will become a bride?and a widow?on the same day. Another riveting installment of the 87th Precinct series, 'Til Death is one of bestseller Ed McBain?s finest, an intense, life-and-death nerve-wracker hailed by the Literary Review as ?zestful, inventive, and utterly compulsive.?

Christmas crept into Pine Cove like a creeping Christmas thing: dragging garland, ribbon, and sleigh bells, oozing eggnog, reeking of pine, and threatening festive doom like a cold sore under the mistletoe. 'Twas the night (okay, more like the week) before Christmas, and all through the...  more

Christmas crept into Pine Cove like a creeping Christmas thing: dragging garland, ribbon, and sleigh bells, oozing eggnog, reeking of pine, and threatening festive doom like a cold sore under the mistletoe. 'Twas the night (okay, more like the week) before Christmas, and all through the tiny community of Pine Cove, California, people are busy buying, wrapping, packing, and generally getting into the holiday spirit. It is the hap-hap-happiest time of the year, after all. But not everybody is feeling the joy. Little Joshua Barker is in desperate need of a holiday miracle. No, he's not on his deathbed; no, his dog hasn't run away from home. But Josh is sure that he saw Santa take a shovel to the head, and now the seven-year-old has only one prayer: Please, Santa, come back from the dead. But hold on! There's an angel waiting in the wings. (Wings, get it?) It's none other than the Archangel Raziel come to Earth seeking a small child with a wish that needs granting. Unfortunately, our angel's not sporting the brightest halo in the bunch, and before you can say "Kris Kringle," he's botched his sacred mission and sent the residents of Pine Cove headlong into Christmas chaos, culminating in the most hilarious and horrifying holiday party the town has ever seen. Only Christopher Moore, the man who brought you the outrageous lost gospel Lamb and the hysterical fish tale Fluke could have devised a new holiday classic that tugs at the heartstrings and serves up a healthy slice of fruitcake to boot. Move over, Charles Dickens -- it's Christopher Moore time.

Charged with gross incompetence, Satan is fired from his job as Prince of Hell and exiled to that most terrible of places: English suburbia. Forced to live as a human under the name of Jeremy Clovenhoof, the dark lord not only has to contend with the fact that no one recognises him or gives him...  more

Charged with gross incompetence, Satan is fired from his job as Prince of Hell and exiled to that most terrible of places: English suburbia. Forced to live as a human under the name of Jeremy Clovenhoof, the dark lord not only has to contend with the fact that no one recognises him or gives him the credit he deserves but also has to put up with the bookish wargamer next door and the voracious man-eater upstairs. Heaven, Hell and the city of Birmingham collide in a story that features murder, heavy metal, cannibalism, armed robbers, devious old ladies, Satanists who live with their mums, gentlemen of limited stature, dead vicars, petty archangels, flamethrowers, sex dolls, a blood-soaked school assembly and way too much alcohol. Clovenhoof is outrageous and irreverent (and laugh out loud funny!) but it is also filled with huge warmth and humanity. Written by first-time collaborators Heide Goody and Iain Grant, Clovenhoof will have you rooting for the bad guy like never before.

Detective Charlie Parker returns in The Black Angel, the sixth thriller by acclaimed New York Times bestselling author John Connolly. The Black Angel begins with the mysterious abduction of a young woman. Intrigued by the case, Charlie Parker's longtime friend and professional killer, Louis,...  more

Detective Charlie Parker returns in The Black Angel, the sixth thriller by acclaimed New York Times bestselling author John Connolly. The Black Angel begins with the mysterious abduction of a young woman. Intrigued by the case, Charlie Parker's longtime friend and professional killer, Louis, begins a solo search for the girl. The ties of friendship inevitably draw Parker into the search, as he soon discovers that the girl's disappearance is linked to a church of bones in eastern Europe, to the slaughter at a French monastery in 1944, and to the myth of an object known as the Black Angel. But the Black Angel is not a legend. It is real. It lives. It dreams. And the mystery of its existence may contain the secret of Parker's own origins... As with his previous novels, John Connolly masterfully intertwines mystery, emotion, violence, and the supernatural in this raw and gripping thriller. Fast-paced, spellbinding, and elegantly written, this is John Connolly at his chilling best.

In Jasper Fforde's Great Britain, circa 1985, time travel is routine, cloning is a reality (dodos are the resurrected pet of choice), and literature is taken very, very seriously. England is a virtual police state where an aunt can get lost (literally) in a Wordsworth poem and forging Byronic...  more

In Jasper Fforde's Great Britain, circa 1985, time travel is routine, cloning is a reality (dodos are the resurrected pet of choice), and literature is taken very, very seriously. England is a virtual police state where an aunt can get lost (literally) in a Wordsworth poem and forging Byronic verse is a punishable offense. All this is business as usual for Thursday Next, renowned Special Operative in literary detection. But when someone begins kidnapping characters from works of literature and plucks Jane Eyre from the pages of Bront?'s novel, Thursday is faced with the challenge of her career.

For a wealthy businessman, a kidnapping puts him in a predicament as troubling as any he has ever experienced. For Detective Steve Carella and the men at the 87th Precinct, their troubles are even worse. Their only hope is that he will play ball?at least long enough for them to catch the perps...  more

For a wealthy businessman, a kidnapping puts him in a predicament as troubling as any he has ever experienced. For Detective Steve Carella and the men at the 87th Precinct, their troubles are even worse. Their only hope is that he will play ball?at least long enough for them to catch the perps before the kidnapping turns into a homicide. Ed McBain delivers another rapid-fire nail-biter in his 87th Precinct series with King?s Ransom, a morally complex weaving of friendship, personal responsibility, and the nature of man hailed by the Daily Mirror: ?McBain spins the tightest tale in town?there?s nobody who does it better.? King?s Ransom was made into the major motion picture High and Low by acclaimed director Akira Kurasawa.

SHE is a director of dog food commercials who's just been recruited to finish a four-day movie shoot. But as soon as Lucy Armstrong arrives on set, she discovers that the staff is in chaos, the make-up artist is suicidal, and the stunt director just happens to be her ex-husband. That, and the...  more

SHE is a director of dog food commercials who's just been recruited to finish a four-day movie shoot. But as soon as Lucy Armstrong arrives on set, she discovers that the staff is in chaos, the make-up artist is suicidal, and the stunt director just happens to be her ex-husband. That, and the temperamental lead actor has just acquired as an advisor a Green Beret who has the aggravating habit of always being right. HE thought that hiring on as a military consultant for a movie star was a to-die-for deal: easy work, easy money, easier starlets. But his first day on the job, Captain J.T. Wilder ends up babysitting a bumbling comedian, dodging low-flying helicopters, and trying to find out who's taking "shooting a movie" much too literally.

The world writhes as a remorseless terror sweeps across the planet. The age of immortals is drawing to a close and the vestige of humanity lies in tatters. Jonas, the failed leader of the human resistance, is adrift in a world that rejected him. Having witnessed the cold cruelty of...  more

The world writhes as a remorseless terror sweeps across the planet. The age of immortals is drawing to a close and the vestige of humanity lies in tatters. Jonas, the failed leader of the human resistance, is adrift in a world that rejected him. Having witnessed the cold cruelty of annihilation, he spent hours in a state of debilitating shock. But now he must venture back to the ruins of civilization in search of hope.